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June 2017 Reflection

Even though I didn't really do much of anything for the blog or bookstagram this month, I still decided that I should write a monthly reflection for this month. After all, these reflections are supposed to help me grow and improve the blog and our bookstagram, so why should I skip one just so I could ignore my faults and mistakes?

If you didn't already know, I make these monthly reflections to reflect on Reading is Inevitable's progress on the blog and bookstagram and also discuss plans and hopes for the next month. If you would like to see more, be sure to check out the monthly reflections label.

Looking Back Into June

The Blog

Remember how I said that I didn't do well this past month? Well, this is just another warning. So be warned. For June, pageviews dropped to an even lower number than they were in May, decreasing by an unfortunate but expected 45%. I also failed to post at all until the 19th of June.

Bookstagram

While we did lose followers as a result of our inactivity, I actually am pretty happy with how small that number is. Before our inactivity began, we had around 1,668 followers, and at the end of June, we had about 1,658 followers, only decreasing by 10 followers. We also started to post again the last two days of June.

Goals
All the way back in early May, I made some goals for myself that I wanted to complete for May. However, since I stopped blogging mid-to-late May, I'll reflect on these goals as goals for both the month of May and June.

Nope. How could we change and then keep up a bookstagram theme when we weren't even on bookstagram for the most part?

We did not hit 1.7k... Like I said before, we weren't active, and... and... yeah.

I don't even know what to do anymore... I guess what's important is that I'm trying.

(I'm so terribly sorry for that but I knew going into this that I did not make any of my goals and... Sigh. That was pretty sad, wasn't it? Oh... well.)

Coming up in July

Okay! Now that that is over, we can focus on some of the stuff we have planned for July.

The Blog
I have a lot of ideas and plans for the blog in the upcoming months, including July. Something that I am really excited to share with you is the changes to the posting schedule. A few months back, I had adjusted my posting schedule so that I could more easily post while still keeping up with school. However, school is now over for the summer. So, from now until I say otherwise, I will have posts on both Mondays and Fridays! (Monthly reflections will continue to be published on the first Friday of each month.)

Bookstagram
As you might have known for a while now, Em and I have been discussing and thinking about where we want to go in terms of our bookstagram page. We have gone over different picture styles and themes and such, and, going into July, we hope that we can finally show you what we've been working on.

Goals
(This time, I'm going to work hard to meet these goals. Or, at the least, that's what I say now.)

Publish a blog post every Monday and Friday. I know, I know: This is a bit of a stupid and silly one. However, it's one of the first steps to getting back on track with the blog.

Post regularly on the bookstagram. Again, just another goal to get back in the swing of things.

Get creative with bookstagram and blog posts. I don't want my blog posts to be little boring things that someone skims through or something I'm hardly interested in myself. And I don't want our bookstagram pictures to be simple shots of just a book in a hand. I think that this will make the blog and bookstagram page more worthwhile for me while also increasing positive feedback and engagement from readers and followers. :)

I've got a lot planned for July and I hope that all of this excitement can carry on into the following months as well. I hope that you stick with me through all of this! Be sure to come back next week, when I'll have not one, but two blog posts publishing. See you then!

This Month's Popular Posts

As some of you may know by looking at my posts on our social media page (@readingisinevitable on Instagram), I am currently reading Audacity by Melanie Crowder. It is a beautiful book written in free verse, and follows the life of Clara Lemlich, a female Jewish immigrant who came to America in the early 1900s. (For the full summary of the book, click here.) I absolutely love books written in free verse, or any type of poetry, in fact! This book is so lovely that I have decided to dedicate a whole post to some of my favorite quotes or parts! (Note: I am only on page 294, and there are 366 pages, not including the extra content at the end of my local library's copy.)

If you've poked around bookstagram a bit, you might have noticed terms or acronyms that are commonly used, and yet you have no idea what they mean. Don't you worry. I think everyone was a bit lost in the beginning. But, luckily for you, I'm here to explain what some of these foreign "words" mean. Shall we begin?

Okay. So first up is the word "bookstagram" itself. I think this one's pretty easy to dissect. You see the word "book", and then the ending of "stagram." (Wow, that makes a whole lot of sense! Just, wait a second, please.) The word is a combination of "book(s)" and "Instagram", creating the mish-mashed version of "bookstagram." For anyone confused (although I don't think it's too complicated), just think of it like a ship name. For instance, "Percabeth" is a combination of Percy and Annabeth's names. "Caleo" is a combination of Calypso and Leo's names. (Pl…

Hello, fellow bookstagrammers! Today I'm sharing with you yet another installment of the Navigating Bookstagram series, and it's all about using Instagram's business tools for bookstagram! But what exactly are Instagram business tools?

Instagram has been offering tools and insights for businesses to use since 2014, but more useful, updated tools only came out in the spring of 2016. By connecting a Facebook account to the Instagram page, users can now see analytics on each individual post and their posts as a whole, as well as information on the demographic of their followers. Additionally, if they add the feature, users can view insights on their Instagram stories.

Setting Up Business Tools
First, you'll need to create a Facebook account and/or page. Once you have a Facebook account, you can create a business page by clicking the down arrow at the top of the screen and "Create Page." From there, choose from the options they give you (below). What you pick wil…

I love books. I mean, you have to know that, right? After all, I have a whole blog dedicated to books. There's also a good chance you came from the bookstagram account I co-run with my sister, so you would also know how much I talk about books over there. (It is a bookstagram.) And there definitely isn't anything wrong with liking books. My mom actually said recently that she's glad I'd rather buy books than some other stuff kids my age want, whatever that may be.

Except there's a problem with liking books too much: You end up buying a lot of them.

Sure, I don't have as many books as others do. I've seen people dedicate three or four shelves just for their TBR books. But I still have over 20, a number that makes Em, someone who practically finishes a book days after buying it, shudder and shake her head.

And now I've begun to shake my head, too.

Yes, having a lot of books gives me options when it's time to pick a new one to read. Even if I'm no…